WEIGHT GAIN IN PREGNANCYIf you are of average weight, you should put on between 11 to 16 kg over the course of your pregnancy. It should be somewhat less if you are overweight, or a little more if you are underweight. Do not diet to lose weight during this time because your child may end up not getting enough nutrients.

EATING A BALANCED DIETEvery type of food you eat supplies different essential nutrients. Consult your doctor or dietitian if there are certain foods that you don’t eat, such as dairy products, meat or fish. It is possible to maintain a vegetarian diet during your pregnancy and while you are breastfeeding, but a diet that contains no animal products (vegan) is not recommended.

EXERCISEKeep fit by getting regular exercise, e.g. walking, aerobics, yoga or hiking. It can be even more fun if you find a group to join. But while you are pregnant you should avoid anything that is too intensive, or dangerous sports that involve higher risks of falls or injury.

An in-depth leaflet with the same title is also available free of charge in German, French and Italian from the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO).

FURTHER INFORMATION:• Health information in various languages: Swiss Red Cross:

migesplus.ch

• Allergy information: aha! Swiss Allergy Centre: aha.ch

• Information for mothers and fathers: muetterberatung.ch

• Ladies’ roundtables on health issues and preventive strategies in multiple languages: femmestische.ch

• Swiss Society for Nutrition SSN: sge-ssn.ch

• Swiss Federation of Midwives: hebamme.ch

• Swiss Association of Registered Dietitians: svde-asdd.ch

• Swiss Foundation for the Promotion of Breastfeeding: stillfoerderung.ch

Professional Societies:

• Swiss Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SSGO): sggg.ch

• Swiss Society of Paediatrics (SSP): swiss-paediatrics.org

HYGIENERaw foods may naturally be contaminated with germs. So especially during your pregnancy more attention should be paid to general hygiene and cleanliness: carefully wash your hands and kitchen utensils, process raw or unwashed ingredients separately from other foods, keep animal-based foods refrigerated and cook meat, poultry, eggs and fish at sufficiently high temperatures.

ALLERGIESOnly avoid foods if your doctor has diagnosed an allergy or intoler-ance. Otherwise you may be limiting your diet for no reason.

BREASTFEEDINGBreastfeeding provides your child with the most natural and nutritious food, making it easier to get the best possible start in life. Ideally, your child should be breastfed exclusively for the first four to six months.

CONTACT

Tel. +41 (0)58 463 30 33 E-mail info@blv.admin.chwww.blv.admin.ch

Albanisch, Arabisch, Deutsch, Französisch, Englisch, Farsi, Italienisch, Portugiesisch, Serbisch, Spanisch, Somali, Tamil, Tigrinya, Türkisch

albanais, allemand, anglais, arabe, espagnol, farsi, français, italien, portugais, serbe, somali, tamoul, tigrinya, turc

albanese, arabo, francese, inglese, italiano, persiano, portoghese, serbo, somalo, spagnolo, tamil, tedesco, tigrino, turco

Encourage your partner to join you in eating a balanced diet and getting plenty of fresh air.

Diet and nutrition during pregnancy and while breastfeedingWISHING YOU A HEALTHY AND

ENJOYABLE TIME DURING YOUR PREG-NANCY AND WHILE BREASTFEEDING!

Your body needs more vitamins and minerals when you are pregnant or breastfeeding. More energy (calories) is only required once you reach the fourth month of pregnancy. A cup of yoghurt, a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit a day should however be enough to cover these additional needs until your child is born and while breastfeeding. 8/2016Art.-Nr. 341.802.ENGL

HELPING YOUR CHILD GET THE BEST POSSIBLE START TO LIFEYou can help your child get the best possible start to life by maintain-ing a balanced diet before and during your pregnancy and while breastfeeding. The Swiss food pyramid offers guidance: you need the foods on the bottom levels of the pyramid in larger quantities, and less of the foods shown towards the top of the pyramid.

SWEET & SALTY FOODS: in small amounts.

OILS, FATS & NUTS: 2-3 tablespoons of plant-based oil per day, such as rapeseed oil or olive oil and a small handful of nuts, e.g. walnuts. Use butter and margarine sparingly.

DAIRY PRODUCTS, MEAT, FISH, EGGS & TOFU: 3-4 portions of dairy products per day and 1 portion of meat/fish/eggs/tofu.

CEREALS, POTATOES & PULSES: 3-4 portions per day, such as bread/rice/lentils/ millets/pasta, preferably wholegrain.

FRUITS & VEGETABLES: at least 5 portions (5 handfuls) per day.

BEVERAGES: choose water and unsweetened herbal or fruit teas. Drink 1.5-2 litres per day during pregnancy and at least 2 litres per day when breastfeeding.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREGNANCY AND WHILE BREASTFEEDING

Some words to live by during your pregnancy:

eat twice as healthily, not twice as much! PLEA

SE N

OTE

Rec

omm

ende

d

Onl

y ra

rely

Avo

id

Dur

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preg

nanc

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hile

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astf

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ke fo

lic a

cid

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blet

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(400

mic

rogr

ams

per d

ay),

idea

lly e

ven

whe

n pl

anni

ng a

pre

gnan

cy a

nd a

t lea

st

until

the

end

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e 12

th w

eek

of p

regn

ancy

. Fol

ic a

cid

is

impo

rtan

t for

the

heal

thy

deve

lopm

ent o

f you

r chi

ld’s

nerv

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syst

em.

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vita

min

D d

rops

– 15

mic

rogr

ams

per d

ay (6

00 IU

, or i

nter

natio

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nits

).

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thy

deve

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f bon

e tis

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to y

our d

octo

r or d

ietit

ian

abou

t whe

ther

you

sho

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our d

iet w

ith

addi

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s su

ch a

s iro

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meg

a 3

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aci

ds o

r vita

min

B12

.

Use

iodi

sed

salt.

Om

ega

3 fa

tty a

cids

pla

y an

impo

rtan

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the

heal

thy

deve

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brai

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d ey

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at fa

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sh o

nce

or tw

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a w

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as

wel

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d nu

ts

(esp

ecia

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alnu

ts) e

very

day

.

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rage

s• D

rink

less

of c

affei

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d be

vera

ges

such

as

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lack

and

gre

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a, ic

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ups

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een

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per d

ay.

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inks

and

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at c

onta

in q

uini

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as to

nic

wat

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esh

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it un

der r

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ater

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and

dai

ry

prod

ucts

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d:∙ U

npas

teur

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milk

∙ Soft

or s

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oft c

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ade

from

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, she

ep o

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(fro

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npas

teur

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and

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teur

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)∙ F

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chee

se∙ B

lue

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ses

such

as

gorg

onzo

la

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e re

com

men

ded:

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aste

uris

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nd U

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hurt

, kefi

r (m

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from

pas

teur

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resh

che

eses

like

moz

zare

lla, q

uark

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age

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se

(mad

e fro

m p

aste

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ilk)

∙ Har

d ch

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s (m

ade

from

unp

aste

urise

d or

pas

teur

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milk

)

Mea

t, fis

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ggs

Avoi

d an

imal

pro

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at a

re s

till r

aw o

r not

fully

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, suc

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:

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mea

t∙ R

aw s

ausa

ge s

uch

as s

mok

ed s

ausa

ge, s

alam

i∙ C

ured

ham

∙ Raw

fish

suc

h as

sus

hi, r

aw s

eafo

od∙ S

mok

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sh s

uch

as s

mok

ed s

alm

on o

r tro

ut∙ F

oods

mad

e w

ith ra

w e

ggs,

suc

h as

tira

mis

u

Do

not e

at a

ny li

ver d

urin

g th

e fir

st th

ree

mon

ths

of

preg

nanc

y. It

cont

ains

hig

h le

vels

of v

itam

in A

, whi

ch

may

cau

se d

efor

miti

es d

urin

g th

e ea

rly s

tage

s of

pr

egna

ncy.

• Onl

y ra

rely

eat

fres

h tu

na o

r pik

e.• R

ecom

men

ded

type

s of

fish

incl

ude

salm

on, c

anne

d tu

na, s

ardi

nes,

anc

hovi

es

and

herr

ing

• Eat

a g

ood

varie

ty o

f diff

eren

t fish

if p

ossi

ble.

Do

not e

at g

ame

mea

t suc

h as

ven

ison

or w

ild b

oar.

It m

ay c

onta

in le

ad, w

hich

can

da

mag

e yo

ur c

hild

’s ne

rvou

s sy

stem

Alc

ohol

ic

beve

rage

sAv

oid

Avoi

d or

onl

y dr

ink

rare

ly

and

in s

mal

l por

tions

Toba

cco

and

to

bacc

o sm

oke

Avoi

d

You

can

dis

cuss

any

per

son

al c

once

rns

you

hav

e w

ith

you

r do

ctor

or

diet

itia

n (p

leas

e re

fer

to t

he

furt

her

info

rmat

ion

on

th

e la

st p

age)

.

© Swiss Society for Nutrition SSN, Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office FSVO / 2o11

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